Sally & Antony Jeffrey’s Musical Journeys

Vienna and Berlin

In 2024 we undertook three wonderful and very different journeys, two in Europe and one in the UK. The first, in May, was an unashamedly sentimental journey to our favourite musical cities, Vienna and Berlin with an extra three days to walk in the north German highlands of the Harz Mountains. Maybe as a result of my hints that it could be our last trip to these great cities, all the places in the group went out the door in barely more than a week.

In Vienna we walked down the buzzing Kärntnerstrasse four nights in a row from our Hotel Royal to the legendary Wiener Staatsoper to see four fascinating opera productions. In Berlin the fare was more varied but no less excellent and I have the image in my mind of the grey woolly-haired Simon Rattle in the great Philharmonie concert hall walking among the players as he conducted Mozart’s last three symphonies. We were so lucky.

Summer Festivals in England

A week later we were in England with only six others following the drop out of another couple due to sudden illness, but what a delightful group of friends it was, attending the incomparable opera festivals at Glyndebourne, Garsington and Grange Park. As if that wasn’t enough, our dear friend Andrew Neill drove us all across England to Aldeburgh on the east Suffolk coast for what is arguably  the greatest music festival in England. There we spent a week driving to venues, both ancient and modern in pretty villages for a series of unforgettable concerts.

Pre-Christmas Journey in Central Europe

In recent years, we have found that tourist crowds in summer in the larger or more celebrated  towns and cities, can spoil our musical or cultural enjoyment. Claudia, our wonderful agent, who accompanies our journeys in Europe, suggested we should plan our jaunts in the colder months, hence our journey to enjoy Christmas festivities and amazing places from Prague via special towns in Austria and Slovenia to Vienna in mid-December. It could not have been a more enjoyable experience for us and twelve of our friends. As in 2023 in Italy and again in Austria, Claudia and her husband Michael hired two large eight seater cars and drove us everywhere, an experience everyone loves as it avoids trains, buses, flights and taxis and it is such a perfect way for everyone to become friends.

2025 Journeys:

Festival of Mahler Symphonies

In May 2025, we set out on one of our biggest journeys, both in terms of numbers of people and interesting programs. Perhaps because of the great success in Leipzig of its Festival of Mahler symphonies in 2023, Amsterdam decided it could not be outdone, being proud of its self-imposed reputation as the premier city for performance of Mahler since his own time. In May this year, all the symphonies will be performed in its unrivalled Concertgebouw (Concert Hall) by five of the world’s greatest orchestras, together with many of his other works. Sally and I and have put together a group of seventeen friends and friends of friends and we will be there for Amsterdam’s Mahler Fest from 8-19 May. We have also organised an extra three days in Copenhagen to catch two tremendous new productions at the magnificent new Royal Opera House, an opera based on the famous Danish story Aisle and Alida, and a new ballet of Gershwin’s The Great Gatsby.

Predictably all places in our group for the Mahler Festival in Amsterdam are long ago committed, but for our last three journeys, there has been a late cancellation each time either through illness or an emergency, so it may be worthwhile for someone very interested to put your name down for a possible cancellation.

Journey to Broome and the Bungle Bungles                                           

We have been invited by the remarkable inter-cultural dance company Marrugeku, based in Broome,  to visit them and spend a week getting to know them in July 2025, exploring their work and visiting their special sites in and around Broome. I was once the Chairman of Marrugku in the 1990s, and I know this invitation is a special honour and privilege. The week will include a flight to the Bungle Bungles  where we will land and be given a guided tour. Confirmation of the journey and full details are expected in February.

Further Details of 2025 journeys are shown on our  Upcoming Music Tours page, together with booking details if you would like to apply to join us.

Sally and Antony on tour in Europe

Antony’s second novel Transforming Passion – A Singer’s Way was published in October and launched by former Artistic Director of Opera Australia Lyndon Terracini. It is a story of an Australian opera singer set in the international world of opera. Information on Transforming Passion and his other books and how to buy them is shown under Publications . Antony Jeffrey has been an arts professional for over 40 years. His career in the arts started as the first Director of the Australia Council’s Music Board. Long stints as marketing director of The Australian Opera (now Opera Australia), as general manager of the Australian Chamber Orchestra and subsequently the Song Company, have been interspersed with many consulting assignments. He has recorded over a hundred interviews with artists and leading figures in the arts, many of which formed the basis for his 2010 book Many Faces of Inspiration, published by Wakefield Press.  In 2008, he was awarded an AM for his services to the arts.